POT DECISION CELEBRATED BY MEDICAL MARIJUANA BOOSTERS

Restrictions on the sale and production of medicinal marijuana in
Ottawa have been loosened, thanks to a decision by the Federal Court
of Appeal.

That decision is being celebrated this week by those who provide
marijuana to sick people.

Richard Payne, a member of the Mid-Island Compassion Society, set up
in Nanaimo earlier this year to provide medicinal marijuana, said it's
a decision that should have been made a long time ago.

"It's pitiful that the federal government has insisted on maintaining
a monopoly over the production and sale of medicinal marijuana in this
country in the first place," he said. "Marijuana is essentially just a
natural plant and people with sicknesses that can be helped using it
should be able to take care of themselves without government
interference."

Monday's court decision comes after years of legal challenges to
Health Canada's restrictive policies towards the growth and sale of
medicinal marijuana.

Health Canada's medical cannabis program has been plagued with
problems since its inception, with reports of contamination, low
potency and inflated prices.

Health Canada has never been able to sell its cannabis, grown by
Prairie Plant Systems of Flin Flon, Man., to more than 20% of all
licensed medical users in Canada and each government-approved private
grower was limited to supplying the needs of no more than three
approved users.

However, in January Federal Court Justice Barry Strayer concluded that
Health Canada's "ineffective monopoly" didn't meet the needs of
patients and the restriction limiting the size of other medical
grow-operations was struck down as unconstitutional.

Appeals to the decision by the federal government were turned down
with Monday's decision.

Philippe Lucas, executive-director of Victoria's Vancouver Island
Compassion Club, said allowing individual growers the ability to grow
for more than three patients is a big step towards meeting the needs
of Canada's legal medicinal marijuana users.

He said, however, the court decision does not make the full
legalization of recreational marijuana use in Canada any closer. But
Payne is confident the ruling is a first step in that process.